


Young love was such dumb love, call it what you want it was still enough.

by muppet8910



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-04-08 00:14:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4283349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muppet8910/pseuds/muppet8910
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Title taken from Kids In Love by Mayday Parade.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Young love was such dumb love, call it what you want it was still enough.

They decide to celebrate Luke and Ashton's birthday at the same time. Which does mean, unfortunately for Ash, that they didn't really do anything for his 21st on the day, but he insists that he doesn't mind, he can just wait until the 20th when they're all free for a couple days and they can do something for both his and Luke's birthday.

Luke is also in good spirits. They'd agreed no presents until the 20th, but Luke is still a hyperactive little shit on the 16th. Michael is awakened to Luke literally jumping all over him, shouting that 'ITS MY BIRTHDAY AND I DEMAND THAT EVERYONE SING FOR ME' and Michael just jerks the bed covers so that Luke slides over and off the bed, landing with a thud. He moans from the floor, his face mushed into the carpet. Michael can barely understand what he's saying.

"I fucking hate you, Clifford." Michael rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, but you woke me up. I hate you more, " he replies.

"It's one o'clock! We need to get to the studio!" Luke retorts, rolling over and glaring up at Michael. 

"I don't fucking care! I have nothing to record today, so I don't need to go anywhere."

"But it's my birthday!" Luke protests. Michael has a difficult time not sweeping Luke up in his arms at the whiny voice; Luke does it on purpose because he knows Michael becomes an over-protective and cuddly boyfriend when he whines. 

"Yes," Michael says slowly, "and we agreed that we're not celebrating it till next week."

"You could at least say happy birthday, you bitch," Luke grumbles, sitting up. Michael turns on him, glaring.

"What did you just call me?" he demands. Luke can't meet his eyes. 

"Nothing," he mumbles, crawling slowly away from Michael's bed. Michael watches him, eyes narrowed. 

"No Lucas, you called me a bitch, didn't you?" he growls. Luke stops in his tracks, his whole body quivering. Michael smirks.

"Come here. Now."

"Please don't spank me Michael oh my god not today I didn't mean it you're not really a bitch oh my god I'm so sorry I didn't mean it."

Michael bursts into laughter. "Oh wow, ok. I was planning on birthday sex, but if you're not up for that either...?" He trails off, raising a brow. Within seconds Luke has stripped his t-shirt and boxers and is sliding under the covers next to Michael. 

An hour later, after Luke drags Michael into the shower for what turns out to be more sex, rather than an actual shower, Michael gets dressed and heads out of the hotel with Luke, their fingers intertwined. Luke's got his music playing, and they're sharing earphones, Michael humming along to Set It Off. Ashton squeals at how cute they look and Calum hugs both of them, laughing giddily.

"I literally ship you so hard," he gushes, sounding like a crazed fan. While Michael rolls his eyes at him, Luke blushes and hides his face in Michael's shoulder, exposing his hickey-covered neck. Michael turns to kiss his head, and smirks when he sees his handiwork.

Ashton gasps, hand flying to his mouth.

"Michael Gordon Clifford, what is that?" he demands, his voice perfectly matching the ghastly expression on his face. Michael smirks, raising an eyebrow.

"What do you think it is, Ashton?" he asks, tugging Luke toward the doors of the hotel, to where the van is waiting to take them to the studio.

"Michael that is disgusting!" Ashton calls after him. Michael shouts over his shoulder at him "You're one to talk, Calum loves showing off the ones you give him." The following silence is all Michael needs to confirm that he won that little episode.

Michael is the only one with nothing to record for the current track they're working on, so he sits on the sofa and watches Luke in the booth, smiling as the blonde sings. Even if he were born blind, he'd still be in love with Luke and his voice because it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard.

Luke re-records his vocals a couple times before the producer tells him that they should be fine. Luke grins and skips out, throwing himself next to Michael in the seat Calum just vacated. Michael presses play on his music, offering Luke an earphone. Luke accepts it happily, putting it in and snuggling down under Michael's arm. He hums his approval as Michael skips through to Panic! At The Disco. Michael glances up from Luke's face in time to see Ashton looking away, his expression troubled. Mikey opens his mouth to ask what's up with him, then changes his mind when Luke sits up and presses a small kiss to the corner of his mouth, and Michael turns into the kiss. It doesn't last long, but the sensation lingers on Michael's lips for a few moments after. He smiles at Luke fondly, and the blonde leans up to rub his nose against Michael's. Michael doesn't know whether he's disgusted by how cute his boyfriend is or if he wants to cry for the very same reason.

Calum leaves the recording booth, gagging at the sight. "You two are so cute it makes me sick," he dead panned, making Ashton giggle. Calum smiled at him, but said nothing. Ashton looked down at his phone, and Michael noticed a funny look cross Calum's face; he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but he knew that whatever it was, Calum certainly wasn't happy about it. In fact, Michael thinks, Calum hasn't exactly been very chipper lately; not like he usually is.

"You ok, Cal?" he asks softy. Calum jerks at the sound of his name, but no one else hears. Calum relaxes a little and nods his head, smiling loosely.  
"Yeah, I'm good," he replies. The expression on his face could've fooled anyone, but Michael can hear an underlying tone in his voice that says he isn't ok. He frowns at him, but instinct tells him it was something to do with Ashton, so he says nothing. He sends Calum a meaningful look, however, and Calum nods, recognising that he's in for a 'chat' later with Michael.

After Ashton finishes recording his vocals and helping adjust them with the producer, they all climb back in the van, and surprisingly Calum chooses to sit next to Luke, and they spend the entire ride whispering to each other. Ashton has his earphones in, staring out of the window as if in some dumb movie. Michael glances at the two boys, with their heads bowed as they speak to each other quietly, and puts both of his earphones in, blasting Blink-182. He's listening to I Miss You, but he skips through to The Rock Show, which is what he tells everyone is 'his and Luke's song.' The only lyric he can relate to is "she took my hand and I made it I swear." It was one of his favourite lyrics to any Blink song; he was falling into a deep depression when suddenly he realised he loved Luke, and the blonde pulled him out. That wasn't what the lyric meant, of course, but he liked his interpretation.  
They arrived back at the hotel a few minutes past six, and Ashton suggested they all order a pizza to his and Calum's room and watch a few movies. The other three boys were in agreement, but Michael let Luke and Ash go ahead, pulling Calum behind.  
"Are you ok?" he asks quietly. Calum throws him a smile, walking ahead.  
"Yes Michael, I'm fine," he laughs over his shoulder, catching up with the others. Michael frowns, but says nothing once again, just walking slowly after them.

Five hours and four pizzas later, Ashton is snoring in his bed and Luke is quite obviously fighting sleep on Michael's shoulder and failing miserably. Michael smiles down at him and kisses his head, mumbling, "just go to sleep, babe. Don't stay awake for me."

"I'm not," Luke says back, his voice muffled by Mikey's t-shirt. "I just wanna make sure you don't draw on my face or something." But he clearly had been staying awake for Michael, because moments later he's fast asleep. The moment his breathing becomes even and Michael is able to shuffle about without stirring him, he turns on Calum.

"Ok. Spill. What's really up with you?"  
Calum tries to look innocent.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"Yes you do. I'm your best friend, I can tell when you're not happy about something. What's Ashton done? Do we need to kick him out? He's still the new guy, we can if you want."

Calum chuckles. "No, he hasn't done anything. I'm fine, honestly." Michael glares.

"Dude. Honesty is the best policy, you know that."

"Yeah, and you weren't exactly up front about your fucking depression, so I think I'm allowed to keep at least one thing to myself," Calum snaps.  
Michael flinches.

"Oh my god Michael I'm so sorry that was a stupid thing to bring up I shouldn't have done it dude I'm so sorry," Calum says quickly, leaning forward. Michael looks away.

"It doesn't matter. All you did was tell me that there is something wrong. And I know it's hypocritical of me to say this because you're right; it was unfair of me to not tell anyone, you're my best mate and you deserved to know that shit. But I will find out what's up with you. I want to help you."

Calum turns stony, clearly no longer bothered by the fact that he just brought up Michael's depression, and along with it the bad memories he's been suppressing for nearly a year now.

"It's nothing to do with, stay out of it."

He gets up and walks away, into the bathroom. When he comes back out, Michael and Luke are gone.  
***********  
Four days later, Michael actually wakes up before Luke and quietly calls room service. He orders a large breakfast consisting of all Luke's favourites; bacon, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, sausages. He orders some pancakes, waffles and syrup on the side, too, along with a bowl of fruit salad. He doesn't worry about it too much; he knows Luke will eat it all.  
The food arrives half an hour later, and Michael is torn between waking Luke up nicely or screaming at him. He chooses the latter.

"WAKEY WAKEY SLEEPY HEAD!" he shouts in Luke's ear. The younger boy all but throws himself out of bed away from him, his eyes wide.

"Oh my god Mikey you dick!" he screams back. Michael laughs loudly, holding out a hand to help him up. Luke takes it, and Mikey pulls him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Happy birthday, babe. You're 19!"  
Luke pulls a face as he pulls away. 

"Technically, I've been 19 for four days now," he says. Michael rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Breakfast is ready, by the way. I cooked it all myself!" he says, gesturing to the table of food. Luke's eyes bug out of his head.

"Oh my god it smells amazing!" he gushes, running to it. He stops and looks down at the pancakes.

"You lying fuck! This is room service!" He turns on Michael with a frown. Michael laughs.

"Yeah, but it's the thought that counts," he reminds him. Luke shrugs.

"I don't even care. They do the best sausages oh my god." He picks one up and bites into it, eyes fluttering closed in pleasure.

Michael smirks. "Come on, hurry up and eat that. We're meeting Ash and Calum in the lobby in half an hour."

"But what about my presents?" Luke asks, his blue eyes sad. Mikey walks over to his bedside cabinet and opens the top draw. He pulls out a card and a small wrapped box. He holds it out to Luke, who squeals like a pig and runs over to him.

He opens the card first, smiling adoringly at the cute message Mikey had written for him. He leans over and presses a kiss to Michael's cheek. Mikey nudges the hand holding the box.

"Open it," he urges. Luke smiles at him before carefully unwrapping. His eyes widen slightly at the small velvet box underneath.

"Michael..." He trails off. "It's not an earring, is it?" he asks cautiously. "I don't want to expect something else and for it to turn out to be a stupid stud or something. Which would be even stupider considering I haven't had my ear pierced."

Michael chuckles. "No. It's not an earring. Just open it, dweeb."  
Luke does so, and his hand flies to his mouth at the sight of the silver band inside.

"Michael..." His voice catches on a sob. Michael reaches for the box, gently taking it from him.  
"I know it's stupid and it's cliché and it's usually for heteros, but you're half hetero so I guess you can deal with this. It's a promise ring, to promise to you that I will love, cherish and serve only you. I thought you could just wear this instead of that crappy plastic one on your finger. Fans won't ask questions, that way."

He pulls the ring from the box, offering it to him. Luke slips the other ring off his pinky finger, holding his hand out flat. Michael slides the new ring on, and smiles at how much of a perfect fit it is. Luke grins at it and falls forward into Michael, smashing his lips again his. Michael kisses him back fiercely, Luke's shirt rucking up at his waist under Michael's fingers. They make out for only a moment, Michael pulling away and reminding Luke of the breakfast he needs to finish. Luke nods quickly, hurrying over to the table and digging in. Michael passes him on his way to the bathroom and snatches up a pancake. He expects Luke to protest, but surprisingly he doesn't. He glances back at him to see him smiling fondly at the ring adorning his finger, and Michael can't help but smile, too.

They're ten minutes late meeting Ash and Calum, but Michael doesn't care. Luke is holding his hand and they're both smiling, and that's all he needs right now. Ashton frowns at their joined hands, but says nothing. Calum runs over and wraps Luke up in a hug, yelling happy birthday. Mikey holds out his hand to Ash.  
"Happy birthday, dude. I know it was technically 13 days ago, but we're celebrating as a band now." Ash takes Michael's hand, laughing as he shakes it. But Michael tugs him forward into a hug, squeezing tightly.

"I mean it, bro. Happy birthday." He slaps his shoulder as he pulls away, and Luke swoops in for a hug. Michael smiles fondly at the two and turns to Calum, who's eyes are full of love as he watches Ashton. Michael turns back just to see Luke and Ashton pull away, and Ash smiles tightly at Calum. Michael frowns, glancing back at Calum, who is looking down at his phone. He sighs, annoyed that Calum refuses to tell him anything. But Luke is sliding his hand into Michael's and whispering bad things in his ear and Michael's all but forgotten about Calum and Ashton.

Luke sits as close to Michael as possible on the train as they head for the beach, their huge bag of picnic stuff under the seats between them. Luke's holding Mikey's hands so tight his skin is turning white, but he says nothing because Luke is looking around, eyes wide, and he's trembling slightly. Michael knows he doesn't like being in crowds in small spaces; he can only cope properly with the masses of fans in open spaces, preferring the streets to hotel lobbies. Michael just rubs his thumb across Luke's knuckles in an attempt to calm him.

Calum and Ashton, meanwhile, are sitting either side of Michael and Luke. Calum hasn't said anything to Ashton since they left the hotel, and Ashton doesn't seem to care too much. He's messaging his family, but seems distracted about something. He keeps glancing up at Michael and Luke, frowning at how close they're sitting. He often opens his mouth to say something to the two, but then closes it when Luke tenses as more people board the train. But then, when no one boards after a few stops, Ashton opens his mouth and starts to speak again, only for the train to draw to a halt and Michael stands up, declaring that this is their stop. Luke is the first one off the train, dragging Michael quickly behind him. Ashton shakes his head and follows, making sure Calum is right behind him. He offers the dark haired boy a dimpled grin, which Calum stiffly returns. Ashton smiles crookedly, wondering what's wrong with him. He doesn't get the chance to ask, however, because Michael is shouting at the both from the top of the stairs to "Hurry your arses up!"

Sighing, Ashton breaks into a jog and weaves through the crowd, jogging up the stairs and pausing when he reaches Michael and Luke. Calum is just moments behind him, and Michael nods to them both.

"Ok. Which way to the beach?" he asks Luke, who turns away and scans the street in front of them. He points to their left.

"That way, I think. We should literally be about five minutes away." He starts walking, and Ashton follows. Michael hangs back, nudging Calum. 

"You ready to talk yet?" he asks quietly. Calum groans quietly under his breath.

"There's nothing to talk about, now will you get off my back?" he demands, stalking off. Michael watches after him worriedly, unsure of what else he can do. The only thing he can offer Calum is his support for whatever he's going through, but there's so much more he could do to help if Calum would just tell him what was going on.

They arrive at the beach in just under five minutes, and the four stand at the back, behind the railing. Michael thanks the gods that they're able to walk along the path to a part of the beach that's secluded, and they do it without being seen at all, somehow. They pause next to a grove of trees and agree to stop here, where there's no one else about. Literally, this section of the beach is completely empty.

They lay out their 'picnic', which mostly consists of cold pizza because they couldn't be bothered to make sandwiches or whatever else goes in a picnic. But Michael took note of a nice cream parlour not too far back, and he tells the guys that he might go and get one in a bit.  
They empty out the basket of food, and at the bottom is an envelope, which Michael quickly snatches up before anyone else can. He holds it close to his chest.

"Ok, Ashton, this is kind of shitty a present, but it's from Luke and me and also both our families chipped in as well because I spend all my money on pizza and band merch so I couldn't afford it all myself. We couldn't really think of much else, to be honest, which is why we piled in for it together." He hands the envelope over, and the older boy takes it eagerly, ripping it open. He opens the card with one hand and takes out the slips of paper, reading the message

" 'Dearest Ashton. I think I'm supposed to say something funny for your twenty-first, but I couldn't so I just thought I'd remind you that it's been four years since the Terrible Purple Shirt. May it remain in our hearts forever."

He stops and looks at Michael over the top of the card. "I hate you," he says, before continuing to read.

'So yeah, happy birthday, dude. Luke also told me to say you're awesome and he loves you and wishes you all the best. I suppose I do too, sometimes. All the best, Mikey and Luke.'

Aww, guys, that's so cool," Ashton says, setting the card down gently next to him before glancing at the paper in his hands. He scans it quickly, eyes widening as he realises what they are.

"You got me tickets for Warped? This is amazing oh my god." he says, reading further. "Wait, these are for Chicago, how will I -" He cuts off as he notices the plane tickets. "You guys bought my plane ticket over there? Guys, this is fucking amazing. I feel bad now, because my present for Luke is kinda shit in comparison." He smiles sheepishly, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "Sorry, there's no card."

Luke shrugs. "Nah, it's cool." He takes the paper and unfolds it. He clearly isn't reading properly, and his eyes water after two seconds.  
"You got me tickets for Mayday Parade?" he asks quietly. Michael snatches the paper from him and reads it with him.  
"Two tickets?" he reads, looking up.

"Who for?" Ashton shrugs.

"Whoever he wants to take. Cal got me tickets for Green Day."

"Dude, nice one!" Mikey congratulates him, and Calum smiles as if he knows it was a good idea. They high-five, and Luke giggles.

"Ok, my turn for Ash," he says, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box.

"As my adoring boyfriend keeps reminding me, I'm a loser, and I decided to get you something that has more sentimental value than concert tickets. Not that they aren't awesome presents," he adds quickly, glancing between Calum and Michael. They both shrug.

"No, I know what you mean," Michael says. Luke smiles at him and hands the box over to Ashton. It's not wrapped, and Ashton opens it straight away. He pulls out a long silver chain, on the end of which is a small, matching locket. He gives Luke a weird look as he opens it. Michel already knows what's inside - Luke had to ask for his help for half of it. On the left half of the locket is a picture of Anne-Marie, Lauren and Harry. On the other half is Calum, Michael and Luke. Luke took the selfie of the three a few months back when he told them what he was planning.

Ashton gasps and covers his mouth with his hand, tears forming in his eyes. "Oh my god, Luke," he whispers. "It's absolutely wonderful." 

"I love it, thank you."

Luke smiles. "You're welcome." He reaches over for a slice of pizza and bites into it. He glances around the circle of boys, grinning cheekily. 

"My present was totally the best."  
Michael rolls his eyes and shoves him, chuckling.

"Yeah yeah, no need to rub it in." 

"Yeah, just because you seem to like making everyone cry, while we like to actually make them happy," Calum adds, grinning. Luke shrugs.  
"What can I say? I treat my friends the way I treat my fans."

Calum gasps. "OMG Luke I hate you so much I hate how cute you are and I hate how good you sing and your legs and your hair and you're sooooooo adorable."

"You're a fucking piece of shit, Hemmings. Why does it seem like you wake up and just decide you're gonna try and kill every Luke girl in existence? You with your stupid lip-ring and that laugh oh my god his laugh just kills me it's so cute how he squeaks and -" To prove Michael's point, Luke laughs in exactly the way Michael is describing, his ha-ha-HA with the little squeak at the end. Michael cuts off and frowns. "That doesn't mean to say you can just do it now, Lucas. Stop."

Luke's lips curl in a way that says he trying his hardest not to laugh. "You sound so much like a fan it's scary."  
Michael smiles sheepishly. "I think I read too much fanfiction to be honest."

Luke raises a brow. "I'm only happy with that as long as it's muke that you're reading." Michael snorts.  
"Well duh. I am muke af."

That causes everyone to laugh, and Michael smiles. He takes Luke's slice of pizza from him and bites into it, giving Luke a funny look, a look the blonde chooses to ignore. The four of them simply laugh and joke about after that, talking about how their families are and how they can't wait to go home. After twenty minutes of this, Calum suggest going for ice creams, and Michael instantly sends Luke a pleading look. Sighing and shaking his head, Luke stands and offers to go with Calum to get everyone whatever they want. Michael beams up at his boyfriend, offering his thanks. Luke just shrugs it off and mumbles that he'll be back soon, but Michael can tell he's not really bothered by it.

The moment the two are out of sight, Ashton takes his chance. Michael is looking down at his phone and scrolling through his twitter feed when the older boy clears his throat. Michael looks up from beneath his lashes. "Yeah?"

"Where do you think you're relationship with Luke is headed?" he asks. Michael furrows his brows, surprised by a question coming seemingly from nowhere.

"Why?"

"Well, think about it," Ash begins. "You're twenty, he's just turned nineteen. You're in a band with him and this band has the chance to get really big and popular. We have millions of fans analysing our every move. Fans who don't, may I add, know that you two are dating. And then there's the press; you two can't show your relationship at all outside of your hotel room for fear of people finding out. How long do you think Luke can last like that, Michael? I know you'd do anything for that boy, which includes keeping your relationship a secret. But Luke won't be able to keep that up for very long. Eventually he'll want everyone to know so he doesn't have to hide anymore. And I'm sure you'll get to that point. And then you'll argue and you'll continue to argue and then you'll break up and the whole band will fall to pieces if you two can't keep it together. Are you sure you're prepared for that?"

Michael is stunned. He has absolutely no idea what to say to that. How does he counter something as bold as that? I mean, how //dare// Ashton suggest that? That he and Luke won't be able to cope with the stress and pressure from fans? They //love// each other and they both know they're prepared to do anything to make the other happy. And they plan on telling the fans, just not yet. They're waiting until their career and relationship is stable enough. Is that not fair?

Michael's voice is acid. "How can you even suggest any of those things? How dare you think that I wouldn't do anything for that boy. And the band has nothing to do with what goes on between us. Our relationship is separate from our careers; we agreed that whatever happens between us can't affect the band because that's just not fair on you two. In any case, you're one to talk. What about you and Calum?"

Ashton stiffens. "He understands the terms of our relationship," he says, voice flat.

"And that is?"

"Strictly physical."

"You're just using him for sex?!" Michael yells, his anger suddenly boiling. It's one thing to basically assume his and Luke relationship will all got to pot, but another thing to use his best friend. Michael doesn't care about how much he loves Ashton as a brother; that's not on.

"I can't believe you! How could you just use him like that? Just use him for your own pleasure?!" he demands. Ashton's face darkens.

"It's not like that; we use each other for the same reason. He instigated this relationship, not me. He's the one who took his sexual frustrations out on me, not the other way around. I didn't ask for this at all, but he was into it so I went along with it. On the premises that it stays physical, nothing else comes out of it in case it jeopardises our careers and your's and Luke's. There's no romantic feelings between us."

"Are you sure Calum feels the same way?"

This brings Ashton up short. He frowns, and opens his mouth, then closes it again. He swallows, then tries to speak. "He - surely he doesn't? We agreed to it - we agreed -" His voice rises and he begins to look panicked. "He can't, we agreed that there would be nothing romantic between us, there couldn't be-" He meets Michael's eyes.

"Has he said anything to you?"  
Michael shakes his head. "No, but from what you just told me it was pretty easy to guess." He lowers his voice. "How could you not know?" he asks. Ashton just looks utterly distressed.

"I don't know, he-he acted the same around me, the way he always has, he hasn't said anything, he just seemed the same..." Michael sighs.  
"You need to talk to him, Ashton."  
Ashton becomes even more paranoid. "No no no no I can't do that. No way."

"Why not?" Michael asks.

"Because what if you're right? What if you're right and he does have feelings for me? How would I explain to him that I don't, that nothing will come of it? How could I tell him that I don't love him back?"

Michael presses his lips together. "Are you sure that you don't love him?"  
Ashton flinches. "Yes. I'm sure."  
Michael narrows his eyes. "You should probably think about that a little more. Be sure about where you stand before confronting him. And I swear to god if you hurt that kid I'm gonna kill you, whether you're my brother or not."

Ashton nods sadly. "That's fair enough. I'd do the same of it were the other way around."

Michael sighs. "Just talk to him, Ashton. He needs to know."  
Ashton nods. "I know. I'll do it. Just not today, yeah? I know it's selfish of me but we're celebrating my and Luke's birthday as a band and I don't want anything to ruin that. But I promise I'll tell him."

Michael looks at him sternly. "You'd better."

The two boys jerk in surprise at the sound of voices behind them. Luke and Calum emerge from the trees, carefully balancing two ice creams. Luke hands one to Michael before throwing himself down, while Calum sits down gracefully, handing a cone over to Ashton.

Ash takes it, smiling tightly. He refuses to look at Calum, and the dark-haired boy frowns at him, saying nothing. Michael narrows his eyes, but knows he has to keep out of it.  
Luke furrows his eyebrows, meeting Michael's eyes. "What's up?" he mouths around his ice cream. Michael shakes his head, continuing with his food. Luke's eyes narrow.  
"Michael," he says out loud, a warning tone in his voice. Michael rolls his eyes

"Nothing Luke, oh my god," he groans. Luke's eyes are still narrowed, but he drops it, turning back to his ice cream. Michael rolls his eyes and continues licking away at his cornetto. Luke and Calum chatter away about who knows what, while Ashton looks down at his phone. Michael glances out to the sea everyone once in a while, but mostly just stares adoringly at Luke with a stupid smile on his face. But after about ten minutes of pretty much sitting in silence, Michael looks out the clear blue water again and suddenly has an idea. Luke has polished off his ice cream, so Michael thinks he should be good to go.  
He stands up quickly and stretches, hands above his head. Luke looks up at him as he moves, smiling. Michael looks back down at him, smirking. As quickly as he can, he leans down, grabs Luke around the waist and hauls him over his shoulder. Luke may well be the skinniest member of the band, but he is most definitely not the lightest. His height adds extra weight that Michael's struggling a little bit under. But that doesn't stop him. He charges down the beach and into the water, laughing as Luke screams and pounds at his back. He runs in almost up to his waist before stopping. Luke finally stops shouting, but he's not done.

"Don't you dare drop me, Michael. Don't you dare," he says, a dark warning tone in his voice. Michael sniggers.

"Magic word? Three chances," he says. Luke tenses.  
"Please?"  
"No. Two chances."  
"Uhhh..."  
"Nope. Once chance left."  
"No, Michael that's not fair," he protests.  
"That's not it, no chances left." And with that, Michael swivels and deposits Luke in the water. Luke goes straight under, but throws himself to his feet immediately, paddling around in the water to get a stable footing. He's not standing for two seconds when Michael reaches and pulls his legs out from under him. What he doesn't expect, however, is for Luke do exactly the same to him. He grabs his ankles from beneath the water and drags him down below the surface. Michael opens his mouth but doesn't have time to speak because it's full of salt water. He can hear Luke laughing above him, but Michael has no desire to push back above the surface. He stays exactly where he is.

After a few moments Luke's hands grasp his face and pull him above the water. He can hear splashing behind him, which he assumes is Ashton and Calum because Luke is right here in front of him, holding his face in his hands and searching his eyes, worry flashing in his. Michael rolls his eyes. 

"Luke, I'm fine, I swear," he says in a voice low enough for only the blonde to hear. Luke brushes the comment away.

"Why did you just sit there, Michael? Why not come back up?" he demands. Michael shrugs.  
"I don't know. I just had some weird urge to just stay there. But I'm fine, just leave it, ok?"  
"Hey, Mike, you ok?" Calum says, stopping behind him.  
"Yes, I'm fine oh my god," he says, laughing a little. But when he meets Luke's eyes moments later, he can tell the blonde knows what he's realised as well. That Michael is still a lot sadder than he's lead them all to believe; it's not as often, but the urge and the want to die is still there. Michael tries his hardest to lock the thoughts and feelings away, in no way prepared to let it be him to ruin Luke and Ashton's birthday. Instead he reaches over to press a kiss to the corner of Luke's lips.

"I'll be ok," he whispers against him. In return, Luke turns into the kiss and pushes hard against him, looping his hands around Michael's neck. Michael feels Luke humming under his breath, the action sending vibrations across Mikey's lips. Michael smiles.

Luke pulls away, leaning his forehead against Michael's.  
"I will always be here for you, Mikey. I'll always listen." Michael kisses him again.  
"Thank you, Luke. I love you," he whispers into the kiss. Luke doesn't pull away.

"I love you too, Michael."


End file.
